During that time, the AAC is 30-6 in games against other G5 schools. The AAC champion is a lock to earn the Group of Five’s guaranteed spot in this season’s New year’s Six bowls, making it two of the last three years for the conference. The AAC has struggled overall in the last two postseasons with a 4-11 mark.
According to the Sagarin computer ratings, which ranks conferences by divisions, the American’s West division with Memphis, Houston and SMU, is ninth best in Division I. That puts it in between two Power Five divisions, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal and Southeastern Conference’s East. The AAC East is 13th. The only other Group of Five division ahead of it is the MAC’s West, with Toledo and Northern Illinois.